Wednesday, March 16, 2011

I have a quilt I've been working on--on and off--for about eight years now. And when I decided I was going to finish 11 quilts in 2011, this was one that immediately came to mind. And now that I've finished my third quilt for 2011 and it's time to pick a fourth quilt, I settled on this one.

Despite working on this quilt for so many years, I haven't named it. For now, though, let's just call it my Thimbleberries applique quilt, okay? Because that's pretty much what it is. And the applique never seems to end. But that's okay--I LIKE applique.

Last time I pulled it out and put it up on my design wall, I decided I was going to add another "round" of fabric of some sort to make it larger, and whatever kind of piecing I chose would have to serve as an appropriate background for words--because I wrote a little poem or some such thing of four lines that I planned to applique into the borders.

First, though, I need to finish the applique in the last corner. Here's what it looks like:

The corner, that is--not the whole quilt. Just the three flowers with the ribbon.

And another thing. Some years back, when I first started this seemingly endless "heirloom" project, I picked out fabric to use for all the applique. So when I pulled the quilt off of my Waiting-to-be-Finished-Quilt-Rack, I went searching for the packet of applique fabric. I looked high and low, low and high. Behind and under. And you know what I found? (No, I mean BESIDES the dust!)

Blocks. Blocks that had been swapped over the years and never set. Several bags of them.

Fabric. Well, of course I did! No surprise there!

Kits. Who even knows what kits are there? They didn't look like my applique fabric packet, so I didn't look very closely. Denial. Besides, it's my retirement plan.

Finally, I found my applique fabric, high, high up on a shelf. And you know what? None of the freezer paper templates were with the fabric, nor were any prepared pieces or bias "stems." So where was that OTHER packet?

In looking, I found more stuff squirreled away. Orphan blocks. Weird give-away notions. Pieces of blocks. Cannibalized wallhangings. Bits of small projects begun but not finished. Two drawers full. But no templates or prepared applique pieces.

I spent the rest of the evening re-tracing the missing pieces from another corner of the quilt and cutting out the freezer paper templates. (In this photo, you can see I've placed the freezer paper pieces OVER the applique in the completed corner.)

Next I'll begin preparing the applique pieces for that corner. Then I'll put this seemingly never-ending project up on the design wall and show you what it looks like so far. And I'll look at it awhile--between bouts of belly button contemplation--and plan what I want to do for the next border "round"--the one with the appliqued words. And then I'll look for that scrap of paper with the sort-of poem comprised of four lines that I want to use.

And in looking for that sort-of poem, I'm sure I'll find even MORE stuff tucked away here and there, waiting to be found. And now that I've re-traced the templates, I might even find the ones I'd been using before.

So back to the title of this post--What do you think is missing? I bet you thought I was talking about the packet of templates and prepared applique pieces, right? No. What seems to be missing is my self-restraint. Or my stick-to-itivity. Or my focus. Or whatever it is that has somehow resulted in all this STUFF that hasn't been finished. Oh, I'm just a mess, aren't I?! I think I'm going to need to finish more than just 11 quilts in 2011. I'm already starting to think about 12 in 2012!

I have heard it called ADHD "Attention Deficet Hyperactivity Disorder" and yes their is an adult form! My question is if a person didn't have it as a kid can they have it as an adult and can a pill really bring "focus" to ones life? Just think of all the thinks I might get done if I had the courage to ask! At least in my mind I could! I also think it has to do with not enough time in a day! Life keeps interuppting!

Your problem is you are just like the rest of us quilters. There is so much we want to do and so little time that we hop around from one thing to another. That said, I think you get a whale of a lot accomplished and you have a job that is more that full time. Nothing wrong with you, my dear. You are a very normal, wonderful quilter.

A Retirement Plan! That's it! That is what I'm calling all of my hoarded kits, PIGs, fabric, etc! I no longer have to feel guilty (besides, the price of fabric is going up so I don't have to buy anymore - yeah, right!). That is going to be some quilt when it's finished - no wonder it's taking forever! Beautiful!

This year is the first year that I got brave enough to start going through all THOSE projects. I've organized, put flimsys in a different location than the half pieced tops and the finished but needing binding only quilts in yet another pile. Do I have more than enough to finish 11 in 2011? Yep! But I did manage to get rid of (donated to a local charity) quilts, pieces, patterns, etc, that I no longer wanted or liked. They were thrilled with partially pieced tops and the fabric meant for the rest of the blocks and everything else I had to offer. And I was thrilled to be DONE withthese guilt producing items!

I loved reading that you had stashed away kits for your 'retirement'! I have done the same thing!!! Now I am retired and I am trying to get to them! But life seems to just get in the way - but, I have them:)

At least you found it. I did one as a BOM and the more I sewed on it the less I liked it. The final month, I made the blocks but that was it, I was done and wanted no part of it. BTY, I had it all set together with the exception of the final blocks. I decided that I would give it to the guild as a fund raiser. But, I can't find it,not anywhere in my sewing room and I've even looked upstairs. I can't imagine that I will give it to a thrift store, at nearly $20 a month for 12 months. It is lost good.

About Me

I'm a quilter living in Northern California. I sew and design quilts. During the day, I'm a legal secretary, but at night, I can usually be found in the Sweat Shop, engaged in the sport of X-treme quilting! I'm married and have two adult kids, Soccer Son and the Wild Child, and a daughter-in-law, the Lovely Wife. I try not to take myself too seriously and often write tongue-in-cheek--if you think I might be joking, I probably am!

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IT'S ABOUT TIME!

It's 2013. YIKES! It's 2014! And what's my plan for the year? More of the same? Let's see what I said last year: "Before 2012 ended, several ongoing projects were set aside. Okay, who am I kidding? I'm sure I could say the same thing for every year since 2000! So, in 2013, I'm going to try to get back to many of the 2012 projects and some that were begun even earlier, and get them done. I'll keep track of my progress, in words and photos, here in my side bar." Yep, one year wasn't enough--I think we'll roll it on into 2014!

2014 BOM

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